Malaysian WiMAX provider Green Packet, which offers services under the Packet One (P1) banner, has revealed that despite narrowing losses quarter-on-quarter, net loss totalled MYR80.39 million (USD25.25 million) for the six months ended 30 June 2010, up from MYR50.09 million. The widening loss was predominantly attributed to higher amortisation and depreciation costs related to the operator’s aggressive broadband infrastructure rollout. Revenue, however, surged by 80.5% year-on-year, up to MYR176.8 million in 1H 2010 compared to MYR97.96 million in the same period a year earlier, which the company attributed to the strong performance of its Solutions unit, which saw improved WiMAX devices sales ‘resulting from rapid and growing deployments of WiMAX networks globally’.
P1’s Malaysian WiMAX subscriber base stood at 196,000 at end-June 2010, down from a peak of 199,000 three months earlier, but still more than three times more than the 61,000 customers it had a year earlier. Commenting on the operator’s customer numbers, CC Puan, Green Packet’s CEO and managing director, noted: ‘After two years of operation, we have a clear handle on the relationship between network coverage and promotional activity versus the resulting customer acquisition rates. We eased our foot [off] the accelerator in terms of customer acquisition until our network [was] operating at its competitive best; our foot is definitely back on the accelerator.’ The company expects its subscriber total to reach 280,000 by end-2010.
P1 is continuing to expand coverage in Malaysia, and having completed a network improvement exercise in June 2010 it said that around 40% of the population currently have access to its services, a number which it expects to rise to 45% by the end of the year. Further, it has said that it partnership with South Korea’s SK Telecom, which has taken a 25.8% stake in the Malaysian company in return for a USD100 million investment, is expected to boost its strategy to further optimise network performance and customer satisfaction.